A River in Time
by Tjin
Summary: Post Season Seven.Xander and some Baby slayers must stop a demon ceramony.What happens when they run into someone that makes the new slayers look like pushovers?


Be it our will or be it fate.

Bring the key to our minds gate.

Out of death, fire or flood.

Bring the one of seer's blood.

Broken bones and death be slow.

Bring them out of tempests flow.

--

Xander looked over the rise and cursed for the seventh time in two minutes before looking back at his slayers and resisting the urge to curse again. /Seven or eight at most, why don't you take the younger slayers as an easy mission to cut their teeth on./ Xander growled as he replayed Giles's quote in his head and reminded himself to kick Giles' ass when he made it back to England. /'IF' I make it back to England/ the one eyed carpenter corrected himself before looking over the rise at the seven or eight DOZEN demons that where gathered around a small hill with the seven or eight at the top chanting in an unknown language, as he watched them he noticed the six young girls finally get in position on the far side of the ceremony.

"Nine slayers barely out of diapers and a one eyed Zeppo against almost a hundred demons." Xander muttered to himself as his slayers prepared themselves for the charge.

Unlike Buffy's slayers, Xander's knew to be professionals when it came to slaying.

"Wisecracking and mocking are good… they're better after the world is safe and we all get home again," he told every one of his slayers on their first day at his African training camp.

Looking over at the grim expressions the young girls just barely in their teens wore Xander realized his worst nightmare was about to come true, his slayers were going to die. Gripping his axe tightly Xander swore to any power listening that it would only happen over his cooling corpse.

Taking a final breath to center himself, Xander nodded to the lead slayer. /Cry Havoc/ he thought before following his slayers over the rise.

--

The fight was going better than expected. It was fifteen minutes in and twenty-six of the demons had fallen to his slayers' blades without casualties which meant the battle was going a LOT better than expected.

Better still didn't mean it was going well. Even as the enemy fell, Xander saw his slayers start to grow tired and start to make mistakes. Worse yet it sounded as if the ritual was coming to an end.

Forcing his way through the press of bodies, Xander focused his entire being on one single objective. 'Stop the Ceremony.'

Ignoring the shouts and cries of combat around him Xander charged up the hill killing the few demons that decided a single human male was easier to take out than a slayer, he ignored the chanting demons that knelt around the crown of the hill and charged the tall one in the robe.

That's usually a clue that he's important.

The heavy battle axe bit into the demon's neck just as the ceremony finished. With a sound like ripping steel a girl was transported to just in front of the now headless demon.

"Kill the girl and the power is ours." One of the demons hissed before a wave of demonic flesh surged toward the two humans on the hilltop.

Xander silently sent up a prayer for a miracle of some sort as he prepared himself for a final fight to buy the dark haired girl just a few more moments of life. Then she moved.

Where slayers are gifted with strength and agility, she was blessed with a grace Xander had never seen before. The first few moment she seemed content to sway around the attacks aimed at her, and then she got hold of his axe.

He couldn't actually remember when she took it from him, one moment he was staring in awe as she bent in a way that would leave Buffy sore and then she was standing there with his axe in one hand and the demon leaders bone knife in the other.

"And that's when the destruction began." The words of the song floated through his mind as he stared in shock at the ballet of death the small form meted out in the cool precision of someone doing a job they were born to.

Between the new girl and Xander's slayers the demons where quickly reduced to a broken rabble fleeing in every direction to escape the slaughter.

Xander for his part continued to stare in slack jawed awe at the now gore covered form as she walked through the dead as if it was a normal experience.

As she finally made it back to him she flipped the axe around and offered it back hilt first while she wiped as much gore off the bone knife as she could and slide it into her belt.

Finally coming to his senses Xander took the axe carefully before setting his hand on his chest. "I. AM. XANDER." He said as he prayed she would be able to understand him.

Looking at her now though, Xander realized she was looking at him in the same manner an adult would look at a fifteen year old that walked out of his room with his underwear on his head and a bath towel around his neck while declaring that he was Batman. Not that Xander had ever gotten that particular look. WELL HE HADN'T!

He snapped out of his mental denial when she patted him on the head and smiled. "And you're a good Xander aren't you." She said before she started to twirl and spin among the dead, stopping from time to time to pick up a severed limb and after studying it for a moment would move over to a demon and carefully place the severed member back with its original owner.

Xander was snapped out of the engrossing process by a heavy impact followed by a long familiar throbbing pain. Looking at the slayer that had decided to get his attention by punching him in the arm he noticed all of the slayers had gathered.

Ignoring the desire to remind them of their strength, he did a quick headcount and sighed with relief as he found none missing. One of the younger ones was holding a scratch along her stomach as she complained about her shirt and two others were holding their arms carefully.

Frowning at the two Xander pulled a well worn book out of his back pocket and quoted from it. "Rule twenty-nine, if you don't have a shield, DON'T BLOCK WITH YOUR ARM." He said before looking around the group and noticing that none would meet his gaze.

"And what's rule thirty?" he asked and took the near silent mumbles as answer. "That's right, DON'T LOOSE YOUR SHIELD." He held the glare for a moment longer before slapping the book closed and returning it to his pocket. "But I'll give you all credit for following rule one, we all made it back so the other rules don't matter." He said as they finally looked up at him. "Go gather your gear, I'll call ahead to the camp and have the older slayers make a victory feast and you all get a week off starting tomorrow." He said and ignored the cheers as the newest batch of full slayers ran off to get their stuff.

Turning around Xander almost jumped out of his skin as the new girl stared at him intently.

"You're going home aren't you." She said as more of a statement of fact then a question.

Swallowing past his suddenly dry tongue Xander nodded. "Yeah, if you want you can come back with us. I promise we'll do everything we can to get you home." He said as she smiled again.

"I know you will, and don't worry." She said before leaning foreword. "I won't tell anyone you're Batman." She whispered before leaving a shell shocked Xander in her wake as she moved to join the slayers.

She stopped after several steps and turned back to him. "I almost forgot, I'm River Tam, and Miss Edith told me to say hi."

Xander stared for several seconds before carefully following her, he knew one thing for sure.

His life was going to be 'Very' interesting while she was here.


End file.
